The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sport car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.

    Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered a special “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England, Greg, and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on a radio. They took a lie detector（测谎仪） test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges include an astrologer（占星家） who declared that they were suited.

    The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine's mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell's parents are reported to be less than delighted.

    Organizations, including the marriage guidance Service Relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”

    The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year's free use of a wonderful apartment in the center of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?

    At heart, parents always wish the best for their children, and they work hard for that. Nowadays, we see parents deciding the schools for their little ones before the baby is even born. Once kids starts going to school, some parents want to have a time-to-time update(最新的情况) of their kid's activities. They want to come to their classroom every day, keep an eye on whom they talk to, know the friends they keep, start telling them how to do their jobs, and keep talking to them about everything under the sun. Besides, they send their kids to extra hobby classes, as they want their children to do best in every field.

    When it comes to the education, super mum and dad have all the plans made for their children, and I am sure that they have come up with the best. So, try to fight for the dreams that your parents have seen for you. However, in some cases, it may happen that the kids have some different dreams. Parents sometimes don't even consider the choices of their kids and may force them to do what they wanted to do in life. It's good to plan the future for the children, but leave at least some decisions to them.

    So what should the children do? First, hear out all the plans that your parents have made for you. If you have some different ideas, then sit down and talk to your family about it. Be patient and respect their decisions, but put your plan forth, and make them understand what you want to do and why. Many times, you don't know the difficulties that you may have to face while pursuing your dreams. Ask your parents for suggestions, which will make them feel good and involved. That way, they may support you if you are going on the right path.

    People in the United States honor their parents with two special days： Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.

    These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations(康乃馨). A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(墓地).On these days, families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.

    Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries(烘焙店), telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.

    Being crazy about perfection(完美) among young people has risen by more than 30 per-cent over the last three decades, a study has found.

    Many of them believe that their environment is very demanding and that others judge them strictly, according to analysis of data from more than 40,000 British, Canadian and American university students from 1989 t0 2018.

    The research, carried out by the University of Bath and York St John University, found that the extent to which young people attach an irrational importance on being perfect, hold unrealistic expectations of themselves and are highly self-critical has increased by 10 percent when compared to previous generations. The authors suggested their findings point to the impact of three decades of neoliberalism (新自由主义) forcing young people to compete against one another.

    Lead author Dr Thomas Curran from the University of Bath's Department for Health said he hoped organizations responsible for guarding the welfare of young people, such as schools, universities, and policymakers who shape the environments in which these organizations operate, would resist the promotion of competitiveness at the expense of young people's psycho-logical health.

    He said, "Rising rates of perfectionism highlighted in this study correspond to three decades of neoliberalism, which has forced young people to compete against each other in an in-creasingly demanding social and economic environment." The study also found the extent to which young people impose (迫使) unrealistic standards on those around them and evaluate others critically has increased by 16 percent.

    The researches defined perfectionism as a combination of extremely high personal standards and overly harsh self-criticism, leading to psychological difficulties.

    Co-author Dr Andrew Hill of York St John University added, "The increase in mental health difficulties among young people makes for a setting for our findings. The higher level of perfectionism may be a key contributing factor to such difficulties. Young people are trying to find ways to cope with increasing demands being placed on them and they are responding by becoming more perfect towards themselves and others."

    Columbus made four voyages to the west between 1492 and 1504 in his vain（徒劳的）search for a sea route to Asia. The mystery of why he failed to find it haunted（萦绕心头的,耿耿于怀的） him and filled him with sadness.

    Wherever he went to Cuba（古巴）,Puerto Rico（波多黎各）,Jamaica（牙买加）,South America, Panama（巴拿马）,down the coast of Central America—it was always the same story. Instead of golden palaces, there were grass huts and palm-leaf tents. Instead of silk-robed merchant princes, he found "Indians" who did not have so much as a shirt on their backs.

    When Columbus explored the West Indies in 1493,he heard tales of a fierce Indian tribe（凶狠的印第安部落） who literally devoured（吞食） its defeated enemies after a battle. These people were called by many names in the area, including Calina, Canima, Carib, and Caniba. Columbus recorded the name of the American natives as Canibales in Spanish, a word which came to refer, within a few years, to any eater of human flesh（食人部落,食人族）.In the similar fashion, the word Caribbean, a title for the sea as well as for the region, came into English.

    At times Columbus knew that this new land was not China, not Japan, not the Spice Islands. He seemed to accept it as a part of the earth that the geographers of Europe had never heard of before. It was another world—and he called it exactly that—but Columbus also insisted until he died that land he had reached was an unknown part of Asia.

Harvard Pre-College Program

    Our summer program for high school students is designed to pave the way for a successful college experience.

    HERE YOU CAN:

    Learn without limits

    Pursue your interests in courses focusing on physics, law, writing, philosophy, and a dozen other subjects.

    Live at Harvard

    You will live in a historic undergraduate house near Harvard Square.

    Your plan covers three meals a day, seven days a week.

    Have fun outside the classroom

    You might enjoy a Cirque du Sileil performance, a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, or a trip to the Museum of Science.

    ELIGIBILITY (申请资格)

    Students are academically motivated and will graduate in 2020 or 2021.

    TO APPLY

    Complete an online application and provide the following materials: the $50 nonrefundable application fee; transcripts (成绩单) with fall 2018 grades; signed rules and regulations.

    INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

    Participants should apply for the B-2 tourist visa. If English is not your native language, submit scores from the TOEFLor IELTS language proficiency exam.

    APPLICATION TIPS

    No fee is required to start your application. You will be asked to pay the application fee only upon submitting the application.

    The scores of successful applicants are typically above 103 on the TOEFL with 25 on the written section or at least 7.5 on the IELTS with 7 on the written section.

    Use a desktop or laptop. You will be asked to write short essays as part of your application. This may be challenging to do on a mobile phone.

    You will receive an email informing you of the application status approximately three weeks after you have completed your application.